I'm a big fan of pictures, and I can't tell you how excited I was when I came across this Polaroid application from, who else, Polaroid!

[via The Poverty Jet Set]

Posted by James at 07:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I just finished watching one of the most interesting Frontlines I can remember. The episode was Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story.

It's an amazing story of the impact of a political mastermind (for better or worse) on the Republican party and American politics in the 80s. Terrifying and captivating all at once.

Posted by James at 08:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This week all of the Formula 1 racing teams are preparing for the first ever race at night. The venue, the city of Singapore.

I think I speak for every F1 fan in saying that this weekend's race should be unbelievable.

So how are the teams preparing for racing under the stars? Here's a funny little video from the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team that pokes fun of what not to do to a multi-million dollar, aerodynamically hyper-sensitive racing car....

Well done boys.

[via AutoBlog]

Posted by James at 09:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The Democratic National Convention started in Denver today. Sound like things are getting quite wild in the city and Kristi and I are hoping to head downtown tomorrow night to see the show.

To get in the mood for the event, I've been reading Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing: On The Campaign Trail '72, and I've been startled by some of the similarities between then and now. A good example of this is the following excerpt from the book (pg 174):

"I've always thought that the blue-collar vote had to be a source of his strength," said Frank Mankiewicz, McGovern's main strategist. "It always seemed to me that McGovern-not as the anti-war candidate but as the change candidate-would appeal more to Middle America than he would to any other group. They're the ones with the most to gain from change and they're the ones who get screwed by the way we do business in this country."

Funny how so little has changed in the last 36 years.

Posted by James at 08:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

"All you can do is admit to yourself that yes, this is an adventure, and to accept it as such, surprises and all. With a little bit of practice you eventually get into the flow of it."

Hugh at Gapingvoid seems to have gotten a bit more reflective as he finishes up writing his book. Check out this post - which is where I pulled the quote above. And if you don't read that, read this one, but both are worth the time.

Timely stuff for me, and I'm guessing I'm not alone.

Posted by James at 08:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

First off, I gotta say, Skype (or Skippie as my dad would say) has been a Godsend for Kristi and I. There is nothing cooler than being able to talk, with video, across the globe, for free.

Due to the time zone situation (8 hours difference), Kristi and I usually Skype when she's at work. Funny thing is, she doesn't want people to think she is crazy, since she uses her computer's built in mic and a pair of headphones to chat.

So what is she to do? Fake a cell phone call, that's what. Here's a picture from our chat tonight. I can't stop laughing when she does this:

Hilarious I tell you!

Posted by James at 02:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I finally got a Skype account set up. Seriously, it was crazy easy to get going on both a Mac and a PC (I hooked up Kristi's computer as well), so you have no excuses for not getting an account.

Once you have everything set up, add me as a contact...my username is jomdahl, or just type in Jomdahl. C'mon, free calls and video chat? No brainer.

So what are you waiting for? Get Skype!

Posted by James at 07:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Well heck. It's been a long time, hasn't it?

The reason for my absence from Marketing Punk has not been for a lack of things to post...just the total lack of time/ability to post.

Let me explain.

In the past three weeks I have:

• Traveled to Barcelona, Spain for a job interview
• Received an offer for the job
• Moved from our place Uptown to a new place in Cheesman Park
• Accepted the offer for the job
• Given my two weeks notice at the job I've been at for 5 years

Quite eventful, eh?

Now I am:

• Getting settled into the new place in Cheesman Park with Kristi
• Wrapping up things at my old job
• Getting ready to go to Barcelona for a month for work - I'll be coming back after the month and working from home. Looks like I'll be traveling to Spain about 6 times a year.

This weekend was truly the first time I've had a full nights sleep in about a month...hopefully that will be the norm going forward.

Needless to say this is an exciting time for both Kristi and I. I'm sure there will be many more fun posts coming at more regular intervals. But for now, a photo from Spain...

Oh yeah. And in case you are wondering, that's Kristi and my little yellow car in the background.

Posted by James at 06:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I'd never heard about Las Fallas in Valencia, Spain before, but thanks to my dad, I know about it now - and it RULES.

The first line from the Forbes article my dad gave me says it all...

"If you've ever thought while watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, "You know, this is nice. But wouldn't it look better set on fire?" then las Fallas--Spain's annual homage to everything explosive or combustible--is for you."

To learn how the citizens of Valencia work all year to build million dollar statues, only to blow them up in a matter of minutes, read this article.

It kinda makes that Burning Man look like a biatch, eh?

Posted by James at 07:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I mentioned a little while back that I might be speaking at a conference this September in Dallas about online branding and reputation management...well, that was confirmed, so I will be a speaker. Needless to say I'm excited as online reputation management and branding is of great interest to me...but it seems like I'm not the only one who's thinking this topic.

Here's a video from the social media Super-Hero Gary Vaynerchuk talking about how the tech world of 2008 = the hip hop world of 1985.

God, Gary is a stud.

Posted by James at 08:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Three cool things I came across today:

1) South Park decided to release EVERY EPISODE, ONLINE, STREAMING for FREE! TOTALLY AWESOME. Check it out at www.SouthParkStudios.com.

2) I grew up next to a big sledding hill. and stuff like this always happened. But not to reporters, and especially not to bad ass reporters like this:

Reporter Owned By Sled - Watch more free videos

3) This is Imogen Heap giving us a great example of what you can do with talent, a multitrack recorder and a voice:

Posted by James at 08:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Great find by Seth Godin. Check out this video, and for you marketing folks, think of how what happens in this video applies to your work…

Posted by James at 03:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

If anyone wants to give me a random gift for well, being me, might I suggest the KORG Kaossilator? The Kaossilator is like a small electronic music production station that fits in your hand. I ran across it on the Poverty Jet Set blog, and spent the next hour watching videos and doing research. Here's a little video that shows you what it can do (it's a little annoying but you'll get the idea)...there are plenty of others on YouTube.

Posted by James at 07:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

One of the companies that seem to be getting some attention at SXSW is Qik - a new service/site that allows you to stream video from your cellphone to the Internet. Not sure if this will be the next killer app...but I could see this becoming a new tool for the Uber-Geeks.

It's amazing how my perception of video is going from something that lives on a videotape, to something that lives on a cloud of servers.

So far it looks like Qik only supports Nokia phones, so if you've got one, head over, get signed up, and let us know what you think.

Here's an example of a Qik video of the space shuttle launch this morning...the quality is crap, but it's still interesting.

Posted by James at 08:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

ARGH!!!

As I'm watching all the excited Twitter chatter about the South By Southwest (SXSW) conference/festivals coming up next week, I'm kicking myself for not being there this year. Yeah, Josh and the Bregar told me to go, but I didn't listen - so here I am, being bummed that I'm not going.

Next year my friends, I will be there. Oh yes, I will.

Posted by James at 06:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Really nice article in Westword on Denver's Magnet Mafia. You can see the article here, and you can hit up the Magnet Mafia site here.

Posted by James at 07:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

...you know who you are. (P.S. - this video has boobs, butts and bad words.)

Yes...it's an inside joke. :)

Posted by James at 09:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Ok, so I could come up with some wild marketing analogy to go along with this clip. But I'm not going to because Ligers, ladies and gentlemen, speak for themselves...

http://view.break.com/438567 - Watch more free videos

Posted by James at 07:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Something to keep in mind when you wake up every day:

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

- Mark Twain

Thanks and congrats to Leo at Zen Habits.

Posted by James at 06:59 PM | Permalink

The people over at The Denver Egotist, Denver's de-facto haus of all things kühl in the adver-world, have an opening for a new Egotist. That's right folks, you could be a part of the Egotist team and get your opinions/writing in front of all of the most important adver-people on the Denver adver-market.

Yes, "adver" is my favorite prefix...if you don't like it you can adver-bite me.

Where was I?

Oh yes - essay contest. So yeah, if you want to get on the Denver Egotist all-star team, all you need to do is write up why you would be a great Denver Egotist and submit it to the[at]denveregotist.com. Make sure you read up on the rules and regs right here.

Seriously, if you are trying to make a name for yourself in the Denver market, this would be a great opportunity. Word on the street is that all the directors at Denver ad agencies bow down to the clan of the Egotist.

Posted by James at 07:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

No, I didn't grow up on a Japanese game show. But if you ever slept over at a friend's house, and had to keep quiet so you didn't piss parents off, you'll remember the feeling these guys are going through.

So what does this have to do with marketing? Look at it this way, if a Japanese game show can tap into that "be quiet or my parents will kick our asses" feeling from childhood, maybe your company can find a way to tap into those common childhood feelings to build a connection with your customers.

Think about it.

[Thanks to the Zen Habits blog for pointing out this video and 9 other great videos in this post.]

Posted by James at 09:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

They are on Craigslist right now. Get them while they're hot.

Posted by James at 07:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The New York Times has come out with its list of 53 places to go in 2008. Check out the full list here.

If there is anyone out there who, by chance, works for the New York Times and would like to send Kristi and I on a trip to visit all 53 places...let me know. I think we could handle the assignment. :)

Posted by James at 07:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The title of this post is a quote from an interview with the late author Kurt Vonnegut. Here's another quote I like:

Interviewer: “A lack of seriousness,” you wrote, “has led to all sorts of wonderful insights.”

Vonnegut: Yes. The world is too serious. To get mad at a work of art — because maybe somebody, somewhere is blowing his stack over what I’ve done — is like getting mad at a hot fudge sundae.

Both these quotes are good to keep in mind during your day-to-day living. Along with this speech from Jim Valvano three weeks before his death:

Thanks to Megan Mahan and Tim Ferriss for pointing these out and giving me a little perspective (something we all can use more of 99% of the time)..

Posted by James at 09:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Posted by James at 07:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It was about 30 degrees outside.

Posted by James at 10:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here's a list of the things that Apple will and won't let you get engraved on an iPod.

Here's some favorites of mine, first off, things you can't have engraved:

10,000 Stolen Tunes Inside
Not to be used as a suppository
Lick My Shiny Metal Ass
Something small & white that Enrique Eglasias Isn't In
Steal this? Will self destruct when used
Screwing The RIAA One Download At A Time

And now for some funny ones that were accepted:

This engraving has lowered my resale value
To all the Chinese children who made my iPod, Thanks!
Me vs. RIAA: Exhibit A
98% Liberace-free
Your mamma uses a walkman.

and my favorite...

CDs are for amish people!

[Thanks to FSJ for the point]

Posted by James at 09:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Over the Thanksgiving break I read Alex Roy's book, The Driver. If you're a car/rally nerd like me, I'd recommend it. While some of the spiritual aspects of the book get a little annoying, hearing real stories from Gumball and Bullrun made reading the book well worth it.

Not surprisingly, the book ends with Roy's record setting trip from New York to Los Angeles in 32 hours and 7 minutes, which from a technical and giant-set-of-brass-balls standpoint is pretty phenomenal. Here's a little about the car that Alex made the run in...

Here's a link to the book:

The Driver: My Dangerous Pursuit of Speed and Truth in the Outlaw Racing World

Get it for all your car loving friends. Merry X-mas.

Posted by James at 07:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Having a friend who's a pilot is pretty cool.

Having a friend who's been on the news is also pretty cool.

Having a friend who's a pilot and has been on the news because his landing gear didn't go down and he had to do a belly landing with his flight instructor on Thanksgiving is REALLY COOL.

So Kevbo, thank you sir for being really cool. Glad you made it down safe and sound, and glad they got the whole thing on tape.

Beers are coming your way good sir, you can be sure of that.

[Here's the link to the story on the Fox 31 site...and if you didn't click above, here is the video.]

Posted by James at 07:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tinariwen is one of my favorite music groups thanks to a blog post from Hugh MacLeod a while back. I ended up listening to them as I traveled across Italy with Kristi, and as far as traveling music goes, Tinariwen is tops.

Who is Tinariwen? Well, I lucked across this documentary on YouTube that will give you a good idea. Needless to say this group is a product of their environment, and their environment is harsher than most of us can ever imagine.

If you have the time, watch this video on Tinariwen, and if you like what you see, download their music...it will change how you think about music, I promise.

Posted by James at 10:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

OOOOOOOOOOOK...my small obsession with the Benny Lava video has taken a new turn...could be for the worse. Turns out the guy who did the English sounds-like translation for Benny Lava, Buffalax, is doing translations for a bunch of foreign language videos. Check out this Indian version of Michael Jackson's Thriller, which shall be referred to as "Girly Man" from this day forward...

Special bonus...very special:

Posted by James at 07:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My Uncle Todd passed this on to me...it gets funnier every time I watch it. It starts kind of slow, but get better and better as the video goes on.

Posted by James at 07:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Alex Roy calls the video below a "snuff film" for auto enthusiasts. Shot in Paris in 1976 the driver, highly respected French director Claude Lelouch, drove his Mercedes 450 SEL 6.9 across Paris at top speed. The result is something that's scary, amazing and hard to believe all at once.

Enjoy.

Posted by James at 06:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Fridays. You've got to love them. You might remember the "Benny Lava" jam I pointed out earlier this week (it's the second video in this post)...well this Friday a couple of my coworkers decided to break the monotony with a little dance party, India style.

In this video Eric and Maribeth (a.k.a. Beef) are both watching the Benny Lava video and trying to mimic the dance moves...with varied success.

This might be one of those things that's only funny if you know the dancers, but whatever, makes me giggle...

Posted by James at 10:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Thank God for all the different countries on this planet. Why? Because different countries (namely Japan and India) gave us these amazing videos. Enjoy...

Also, make sure you check out pictures from my sister's big adventure on the ice (hint PENGUINS)!

Posted by James at 07:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On a lighter note...

At 3 mins and 23 seconds this video kicks all ass.

Posted by James at 07:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yeah - I'm bragging. My sister is BFFs with Ann Curry from the Today Show...here is a picture of them totally chilling and taking about the pressures of life in the fast lane:

Actually, Ann is at McMurdo reporting about the end of the world, um, global warming, and she has been drinking heavily with the McMurdarians to keep warm. Here's the story from Laura.

Oh yeah, and speaking of the end of the world, here is a very informative video that describes what could cause the demise of us all. Strangely, the scenario in the video was not covered by the Today Show...

Posted by James at 07:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Ok, so I'm not going to avenge my family because there is nothing to avenge, but I am heading to Juarez, Mexico for the next few days to build a home for a family in need. This is the first trip like this I've taken since Kristi and I went to Africa to paint an orphanage and I'm excited to get my hands dirty and do something meaningful.

Needless to say, there won't be much blogging until I get back, which will be on Wednesday. Send your good vibes to all of my cohorts and coworkers who will be headed south of the border tomorrow.

[Thanks to this person for the photo.]

Posted by James at 11:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This has got to be one of the coolest ideas I've seen in a while. The Eye-Fi is a 2 GB memory card with built in wi-fi, so you can upload photos to the web and your camera by just turning it on. Wild.

Check out the Eye-Fi site for the rundown - at only $99 I think I need one.

[Big ups to Lifehacker for the link]

Posted by James at 08:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I was quite excited to see that this blog, in all of its randomness, has been added to The Denver Egotist's blogroll...which is quite an honor when you see the other local blogs that are listed. I'm realizing I need to add a blogroll of my own on this blog.

Not surprisingly I feel a bit more pressure to write about marketing related stuff since this recognition from the Egotist...but in the mean time here are some videos of FIRE ANTS!

Posted by James at 06:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Index cards...if you're like me they remind you of college and studying. But now that you've gotten through that, is there any other good use for business cards?

You bet your butt!

Web Worker Daily put together together a list of 24 uses for those fun little rectangles of paper including everything from a hipster PDA to writing a novel. Check out the article here.

Posted by James at 08:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today was an amazing day - Kimi Raikkonen, a total long shot for the Formula 1 world championship, won the Brazilian Grand Prix and took championship in an amazing race. Here's the story. Congrats to Kimi and the whole team at Ferrari!

Not sure if this is going to get me any closer to convincing Kristi to let me name our first born male Kimi Raikkonen Omdahl, but it couldn't have hurt. :)

Also, it snowed for the first time this season...pretty exciting for us snow lovers.

Posted by James at 09:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For anyone who has had a long road trip, you can imagine how boring a cross-country drive could be. But what if you drove from New York to LA in 31 hours? I would imagine things would be a bit more exciting, especially because you would have to average over 90 mph the whole way. That's what Alex Roy of the infamous Team Polizei did recently...he even wrote a book about it.

Here is the article about the record setting drive from the New York Times and here is the full version from Wired.

Also, check out this picture of me at the 2006 Gumball 3000 rally with Alex's back-up car, a Bentley Continental GT, which was packed full of police jamming equipment and even ran with a helicopter escort. Crazy.

Posted by James at 12:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Have you ever had a rental car or borrowed a friend's car, had to put gas into it, and not known which side the damn gas cap was on? I have, and it sucks. Especially when you pull up to a busy gas station and have to do the side-switch of shame.

Well, it turns out there is a trick to knowing where the gas cap is, and it has to do with that little icon on the gas gauge. What to know the trick? Check out this awesome tip from Autoblog.

Posted by James at 08:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

If you are looking for a laugh tonight, enjoy this clip from the late and great Mitch Headburg...

Posted by James at 08:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Ever wonder what would happen if you live according to the bible, I mean literally. This guy did, and he wrote a book about it.

Next, this video shows what white trash does when they need to start a bonfire.

Finally, my sister posted some pictures from Antarctica - flippin' awesome.

OH YEAH!!! IT'S ONE YEAR TO THE DAY TILL KRISTI AND I GET MARRIED!!! YES!!! I took this picture today and it seems weddingy, so here ya go...

Posted by James at 07:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by James at 09:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Here's some links I've been meaning to pass along...enjoy:

One crazy rally car crash.

Ig Nobel Awards - Make sure you read the part about the Gay Bomb

The CargoLaw site...a pain to navigate but full of gnarly pictures of cargo ship sinking, crashing, etc.

And finally, a classic headline from CNN.com:

Sounds like the editor knows what's up in the sack, eh?

Posted by James at 06:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)